title: Clinicians' attitudes toward general screening of the Ashkenazi-Jewish population for prevalent founder BRCA1/2 and LRRK2 mutations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Advances in genomics may eventually lead to genetic susceptibility screening of the general population, regardless of a personal or familial history of the disease in question. Yet, little is known about clinicians' attitudes toward such programs. We explored attitudes of family practitioners, medical geneticists and genetic counselors toward genetic screening of the general Ashkenazi-Jewish population for the common founder mutations in BRCA1/2 and LRRK2 genes (which increase the risk of hereditary breast/ovarian cancers and Parkinson's disease, respectively).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 204) completed a specially designed questionnaire, distributed by e-mail, regular mail or in-person.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Slightly more than half (52%) were in favor of BRCA screening, while the vast majority (86%) opposed to LRRK2 screening. About two-thirds (68%) of the respondents supported pre-test genetic counseling. Attitudes were largely independent of professional background and sociodemographic characteristics, though a correlation was found with personal interest in genetic self-testing for the above genes. Adverse psychological impact and discrimination in insurance and employment were the major concerns cited by respondents with regard to screening programs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that the availability of measures for prevention and/or treatment is a major factor in the attitudes of healthcare providers toward population screening for late-onset conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Institute for Medical Research, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shkedi-Rafid
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ofer-Bialer
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Meiner
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calderon-Margalit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D018703:Founder Effect; D019398:Genes, BRCA1; D024522:Genes, BRCA2; D005817:Genetic Counseling / Q000523:psychology; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D005820:Genetic Testing; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D061325:Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007585:Jews / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011287:Prejudice; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C495280:LRRK2 protein, human; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases